ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam, the world’s leading exhibition for cleaning professionals, opened today with the announcement of the winner of the Amsterdam Innovation Award. The overall winner – out of a total of 110 entries – of the Amsterdam Innovation Award 2016 is Augmented Reality: Suma Revoflow from Diversey Care.
The jury has decided to give the overall winner prize to the
Suma Revoflow using Augmented Reality, from Diversey Care. This is exciting and
inspiring technology that has not been seen in the professional cleaning sector
before and it brings with it many opportunities and possibilities. With the use
of Augmented Reality facilities managers can perhaps go some way to tackling a
number of the problems associated with the industry’s high employee turnover –
which include training, knowledge transfer, development of skills and reduction
of errors.
Augmented Reality can be used on mobile phones and tablets
to self-train, self-troubleshoot and get remote support directly from Diversey
Care. This brings many benefits in terms of reduced downtime, more skilled
employees and cost-efficiency. And it has so many other potential applications
for the future.
New products are
incorporating ‘smart’ technology
Michelle Marshall, chair of the Amsterdam Innovation Award
2016 jury comments: “There were 110 entries in this year’s Amsterdam Innovation
Award, with products from all parts of the sector being covered. This year was
probably the most diverse, and difficult to judge, we have ever seen.
“The most striking observation is the number of new products
now being developed that incorporate ‘smart’ technology in its various forms –
whether it is to save on energy and water use, produce real-time data about
staff and cleaning machine fleets or monitor room occupancy in order to
streamline cleaning operations. Or indeed to carry out the cleaning operation
autonomously, in the case of robots.
“Having said that, we were also impressed with many of the
manual cleaning tools and products that are being developed to provide the
operative with more ergonomic, sustainable, cost-effective and practical
solutions to everyday cleaning challenges.
After all, cleaning is still a labour-intensive sector so the evolution
of more user-friendly manual methods remains vital.
“So many of the products we have seen have been designed
with sustainability in mind, both in terms of using less water, energy and
chemicals and in the way they are manufactured. Total life cycle impact, and
‘Cradle to Cradle’ are terms we are now commonly seeing being put into
practice.”
The Winners of the
Amsterdam Innovation Award 2016 are
Machines, accessories
and components
Category winner -
Robot RA 660 NAVI from Cleanfix
The jury voted the Cleanfix robot as the winner of this
category because the company has worked closely with users over many years to
develop a machine that is now in use across Europe – many units have been sold.
The jury was particularly impressed with its navigation system, which uses
laser, and its efficiency in mapping rooms, putting in place virtual walls, and
ease of use for the operator. And it can clean to the narrowest of corners. In
summary, a robotic cleaning machine ready for the real world.
Equipment/tools for
cleaning, care and safety
Category winner:
Quick & Easy System from Werner & Mertz Professional
The jury was impressed with the ultimate portability,
simplicity and practicality of Quick & Easy. The operator wears the system
on a belt and can move from room to room with five different chemicals,
interchanging between them quickly and easily. There is no need for
installation and the operative does not come into direct contact with the
chemical, making it completely safe.
Cleaning management
and training solutions
Category winner –
Augmented Reality: Suma Revoflow from Sealed Air Diversey Care
Augmented Reality is an exciting and far-reaching technology
being brought to the cleaning sector for the first time by Diversey Care with
its Suma Revoflow. The plan is to expand its use to many other areas, with
mobility and the increasing use of mobile devices being the key driver. It
enables upskilling of operatives through the use of IT, with knowledge transfer
made significantly easier.
Kärcher wins the
Visitor’s Choice Award
The visitor’s choice
prize is awarded to the nominee that is voted as the most innovative by
ISSA/INTERCLEAN Amsterdam visitors. With 45 percent of the votes, is BRC 40/22
C from Kärcher winner of the Visitor’s Choice Award 2016.
Other nominees in the
category machines, accessories and components
BRC 40/22 C from Kärcher – This is the cleaning sector’s
first walk-forward carpet cleaning machine with a 200 degree rotating brush and
vacuum head. Traditional carpet cleaning machines operate backwards so this new
development brings about significant productivity gains.
Sealed Air Diversey Care TASKI Swingobot 755 – This is a
robotic scrubber dryer launched by Sealed Air Diversey Care following its
purchase of Intellibot in 2015. Compact and user-friendly, it is designed to
cut wastewater and chemicals by 85 per cent.
Other nominees in the
category equipment/ tools for cleaning, care and safety
Lumecel Microburst 3000 Air Care Dispenser from Rubbermaid
Professional – This is a fragrancing system that never requires any batteries,
as it stores energy generated by ambient light. There are numerous benefits
associated with operational costs, replacing and disposing of batteries, and of
course the environmental advantages.
SpillEx from Vileda Professional – Vileda has developed a
super-absorbent floor cloth, originally aimed at the healthcare sector in
operating theatres to tackle large amounts of blood. It also has many other
applications in care homes, public areas etc, where spillages of any kind must
be dealt with safely and effectively.
Other nominees in the
category Cleaning management and training solutions
Connected Cleaning from Kärcher – With Connected Cleaning
Kärcher is pulling together the many aspects of running a cleaning operation
under one digital platform. For managers this is an all-encompassing management
tool – it covers machines, staff, quality monitoring and is continuously
evolving.
Tork EasyCube from SCA – For optimisation of cleaning
schedules in the washroom Tork EasyCube works via smart dispensers linked to a
cloud-based system. It enables managers to monitor traffic and usage, thereby
anticipating cleaning and refill needs. This means cleaning can be carried out
when and where it’s needed, a much smarter way of working for the cleaning
team.
The total list of innovations that have entered the
Innovation Award competition is available online.
The international jury:
Pierre Deschamps
Chief Editor Batiment Entretien – France
Dick van Zomeren
Dutch industry expert and editor Servicemanagement - Netherlands
Rob Geissler
Publisher Sanitary Maintenance – USA
Michelle Marshall – Chair Chief Editor European Cleaning
Journal - United Kingdom
Ton van der Riet
Managing Director Senzora - Netherlands
Paolo Pellizzari
Editor Pulizia Industriale e Sanificazione - Italy
Reinhard Knittler
Publisher Reinigungs Markt - Germany
Cor van der Velden
Chief Expert at Skills Netherlands – Netherlands
Antonio Borreda
Director Revista Limpiezas - Spain
Amref Flying Docters
received Euro 16,500 for their African water project in Kilindi, Tanzania
During the ceremony a donation of Euro 16,500 was handed to
the African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF) Flying Doctors. Their
project ‘A healthy future for girls in Kilindi’, a remote area in Tanzania, is
set up to improve the health of girls and young women by introducing the
alternative rite of passage for female genital cutting and increasing the
access to safe drinking water, good sanitation and hygiene.